Forever
by SouthernMic
Summary: What happens to those Shepard loves after Control?


Author's Note: I know this is quite dark, even for me. However. Having seen the ending for Control (I personally chose Destruction), I couldn't shake this ending from my mind.

Liara couldn't quite put her finger on when she knew things were wrong. Nor could she quite remember when the constant feeling of being followed and spied upon began. Instead these thoughts had formed as a vague unease that had robbed her of concentration and sleep. The lack of sleep wasn't a total loss; it kept her from dreaming. It kept her from falling into dead arms whenever she fell into sleeping fancy.

Control of the Reapers had brought peace, but had robbed her of the only future the doctor ached for. Shepard had given her life to bring the two warring factions together, to bring the galaxy a taste of hope. The Commander had destroyed not only herself, but Liara as well. The blue skinned beauty tried not to think of the many children the red haired woman had also murdered...their children.

She tried so hard in those early days not to rage against the Commander. To feel fondness instead of a love tinged hatred. But the emotion was not to last. Instead, it was replaced by a loss so destructive that it left her bereft of the will to live. But live she must. Shepard had made her promise on their last night together. Had made Liara swear that no matter the outcome, the Asari would live, and in a way, so would Shepard. Their love would live on, a love to end all others. The weight of it was soul-destroying.

The lonely Asari heard the whispered rumors first. Mankind wandered why the Reapers had rebuilt Earth and Thessia together, forcing the rest of the species to wait. To wonder. And all of the Commander's former friends were followed and protected by the very creatures they had fought to destroy. Dead things shifted in the shadows wherever Liara was, trailing after her into the constant night of space. And these things did not escape notice, nothing ever does. These places and things were close to the Commander's heart; maybe there was a piece of the soldier that lived on within her enemy?

Illium followed close behind in the reconstruction process, with the doctor bearing witness. Her ruined apartment building and offices on the Asari trading center were painstakingly recreated. The mechanical magic the once soulless devils brought was awe-inspiring. As the Shadow Broker watched, her ruined home was restored, down to the very furniture that had once occupied the space. But this trip brought with it her first real taste of unease.

As the grotesque forms worked, Liara regarded them silently for days on end. Sitting by the vast windows in her living quarters, she watched with sickened fascination. The giant Reapers worked tirelessly, while their huddled, deformed soldiers swarmed below them. The Husks scaled the very buildings, their dead hands working feverishly to restore what they had once lay to ruin. Their sheer mass made the skyscrapers shift and bubble as if the buildings bore flesh.

One cool morning, she watched as Husks clamored across her building's stonework. They were completely silent, their bodies caressing the massive structures like a lover. The sight made her own skin crawl. As if sensing they were being watched, the Husk closest to her paused… and slowly turned to regard the sole Asari with dead eyes.

_My love._

The voice was false, mechanical, but familiar. Feminine and strong. Liara's heart skipped, fluttering in fear. Is this how they had seduced her mother? Had they offered the one thing she would have given her soul for? These soulless monsters wouldn't take her, she refused to destroy Shepard's legacy in that way. No matter how much she wanted to simply lie down and rest beside her fallen soldier, she couldn't. Not ever.

With that, she fled. The doctor left the planet entirely, throwing herself at the mercy of her Shadow Broker work. Years passed. She kept herself as far from Reaper controlled space as possible, finding and living on the still developing worlds. Her Shadow Broker links came with her, allowing her to help where she could. But the road was a lonely one. Her days spent rebuilding the worlds she and Shepard had fought for. Her nights filled with aching emptiness, dreaming of the future she had hoped so desperately to achieve.

Almost a hundred years passed this way. The Asari doctor would resurface only to attend the funerals of those she had fought beside, but always returning to her desolate existence.

The once staggering, jerky movements were smooth and controlled. It's eyes radiated green, a deeply familiar green. Liara backpedalled frantically, her booted feet slipping against the weakly packed gravel.

"Stay away from me!" She turned, scrambling on all fours, desperate.

_Why do you run from me? Why do you hide yourself away from my eyes? _The voice was more true to her bond-mate, its artificial quality almost gone. The Asari froze, confusion making her pause.

"What… who are you?"

The Husk's shredded face crinkled as it tried to smile. _Has it been so long that you have forgotten my voice? You don't remember lying next to me at night, giving me the strength I always needed to keep going?_

Liara shook her head stubbornly, refusing to hear its words. "Shepard is dead. She sacrificed herself to you, to control you, to bring us all peace."

The Reaper's hands rose pleadingly. _I gave up so much for so many, but I couldn't leave you behind. I won't. What is eternity without you?_

The dead figure kneeled down, sensing the Asari's desire to believe. _I told you I would wait. _The Husk brought up a clenched fist, its fingers creaking as it revealed dented and scarred dog tags. Tears stung her eyes, her throat thick and painful. Deep blue hands brushed over the eerily smooth skin of the Reaper to bring its fingers closer. She tugged the ancient necklace free. Dead fingers rose to cup a blue, vaguely scaled cheek. _Liara... _

Fingertips buzzing, she took a deep breath to steady herself. The doctor pictured her lost bond-mate, the shining red hair and ghostly green eyes. Within seconds the Asari dipped into the Reaper's mind, achingly bright white light filling her mind. Her instinct was the flinch away, to hide from the piercingly painful glow. Just as she started to withdraw, she felt more than saw human fingers capture hers. Focusing, she saw a bruised and battered hand covering hers. Whimpering, she looked up to meet the same emerald eyes she had pictured only seconds before. Shepard's battered face loomed large.

_Liara...where have you been? I've waited so long for you..._

Her breath hitched as her throat closed completely. The Commander leaned closer, the human's features fuzzing with the motion. Everything blurred dreamily at the edges, rosy and bright.

_I've been calling out for you. Every Reaper has been patiently waiting, watching. I've missed you so much..._

TheAsari'sbreathsteamedasshewhispered _. "_Yourface_."_

Dark, hateful bruises littered Shepard's misshapen face. Deep cuts peppered her skin and disappeared into her ruined collar. One of her emerald colored eyes was almost swollen shut, the skin puckered and torn. The Commander's armor was burned away revealing blistered patches of flesh. Her once fiery hair was scorched and scolded away in spots. Cracked and bleeding lips smiled.

_I had forgotten. This is what I was when the Reapers took me. Let me show you something more familiar... kinder._

The scene pulsed gently, filling the 'room' with warmth. As Liara once again blinked away the light, a different Shepard greeted her. This was the woman the Asari had met many years ago, before death and Cerberus had aged her. The smaller woman smiled radiantly, all sign of her tortured death gone. The many scars that had ravaged her once youthful face were also gone, the smiling corners of her eyes smoothed. Shepard looked almost painfully young, unbroken and beautiful.

And quite strangely, the now young Commander was naked. Not a blemish marred the cream colored visage. Liara's mouth watered unconsciously. Shepard's breath brushed her suddenly flushed skin as the human woman tangled her long legs with the Asari's armor covered own. _Stay with me. Let go and stay. _

Liara felt Shepard nibbling at the corner of her mind, aching for entry. Needing for the blue woman to give herself over. Shepard wanted her, needed her. Liara wanted to fight; her instinct to battle this feeling was too engrained. The Reapers had always promised bliss, and one was offering it to her now. But this particular Reaper was Shepard. Her Shepard. _Shepard…_

Closing her eyes, Liara smiled. The Reaper reached down with gentle arms and pulled her in. She was being cradled to its hardened chest as Shepard continued to slip deeper inside her. Liara felt herself phase into the now-glowing creature, felt her mind scatter...felt her memories become dislodged…felt herself…

She awoke in sunlight. Her warming and bare limbs were tangled with someone tucked in against her side. Taking an overly deep breath she felt sweet smelling, clean autumn air fill her lungs. The doctor turned. Smiling green eyes peeked out from under ginger bangs. The Asari looked around curiously, taking long seconds to realize they were in Shepard's scarcely decorated apartments on Earth. The Commander shifted, lifting herself up on a strong elbow, her voice teasing.  
"I offer you anywhere in the galaxy and you choose this?" Shepard wiggled her bare toes, brushing against the Asari's naked calves.

Liara laughed, the sound startling her somewhat. She hadn't laughed in years. "Its been a while, what can I say?"

Turning them over, Shepard's lean hips slid between blue thighs. The soldier thrust gently, her abs grazing up and over Liara's warm center. They shivered in unison at the slick sensation. Shepard leaned down to take the Asari's lips hungrily, her ginger locks brushing over the doctor's faint blue crest. The doctor's arms encircled muscled, human shoulders.

"How long do we have?"

"Forever. "

No one would see the Reaper carry away the now-dead Asari, curling her up in its artificial arms like a loving parent. The creature simply walked, leaving the primitive world behind.


End file.
